Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 8:52:59 PM
To All,
The Idaho County Board of Commissioners (James Rockwell and Jim Chmelik) informed the Task Force on November 28th, 2011, at the inaugural meeting of the task force, that this task force would be an independent body; that we would be allowed to develop recommendations independently of the Idaho County Board of Commissioners position, and that the Commissioners would only provide input to the task force if we had questions or required additional information from the commissioners.
I initially prepared and circulated for review on January 21, 2003 the draft of the Lochsa Land Exchange Final Report To The Idaho Board of County Commissioners. The response by the Idaho County Board of Commissioners was immediate and dramatic. Since that time I have watched with considerable interest the political maneuverings that are taking place. Shortly after I sent the draft document to the task force members for review and comment Commissioner James Rockwell met with at least one member of the task force, Jay Balch. According to Jay Balch that meeting lasted for at least an hour and a half (ninety (90) minutes). Immediately following that meeting Jay Balch called, on his own initiative and without the support of the committee chairman, a meeting of the task force. This meeting was held at the Idaho County Commissioners Meeting Room on Monday night January 23, 2012, the night before I was to present the Lochsa Land Exchange Final Report To The Idaho Board of County Commissioners. The sole purpose for holding this meeting was to allow Commissioners Rockwell and Chmelik to restate their (the Idaho County Board of Commissioners) positions relative to the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange and to encourage delaying submission of the Final Report. Of particular interest was the fact that the staff representatives from U.S. Senators Crapo and Risch, and U.S. Congressman Labrador offices were present at this meeting. What happened to being allowed to develop recommendations independently of the Idaho County Board of Commissioners position?
Near the end of this meeting one of the task force members noted that there was a sufficient number of task force members present to qualify for a quorum and Ed Hall made a motion that the task force vote on three things. The final report was subsequently changed to reflect the changes but I did not enter one item which was that the Lochsa Land Exchange Task Force supports inclusion of the document A Preliminary Analysis of the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange Effects on Idaho County prepared by Steven Peterson Research Economist and Instructor University of Idaho into the documents to be submitted to the USFS when the Idaho County Board of County Commissioners submit their formal response(s) to the USFS Upper Lochsa Land Exchange Supplemental Draft EIS.
This omission has now been entered into the Lochsa Land Exchange Final Report To The Idaho Board of County Commissioners (see document attached). The only change made to the Final Report from the Final Report provided to the Idaho County Board of Commissioners at their regularly scheduled meeting on January 24, 2012 is as follows: “The Lochsa Land Exchange Task Force supports inclusion of the document A Preliminary Analysis of the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange Effects on Idaho County prepared by Steven Peterson Research Economist and Instructor University of Idaho into the documents to be submitted to the USFS when the Idaho County Board of County Commissioners submit their formal response(s) to the USFS Upper Lochsa Land Exchange Supplemental Draft EIS.”
This is the last and only change that I will be party to concerning the submission of the Lochsa Land Exchange Final Report To The Idaho Board of County Commissioners. I stated that this is where I stand when I delivered the Final Report to the Idaho County Board of Commissioners on January 24, 2012.
Anything and everything said or done by any member or members of this task force, which deviates from the language presented in the attachment here, from this point on certainly must be regarded with a high degree of skepticism. The Idaho County Board of County Commissioners have been actively and aggressively attempting to nullify the findings of the task force every day since they found that many of our findings do not support their position. They are trying to introduce changes into this document that would make it appear that the findings of the task force are in some ways supportive of the position that the commissioners have taken all along. I understand that Jay Balch has called for yet another meeting of the task force to be held Monday night in the Idaho County Commissioners Meeting Room. I will not be in attendance as the work of this task force was concluded on January 24th, 2012 when I delivered the Lochsa Land Exchange Final Report To The Idaho Board of County Commissioners.
I sincerely appreciate all the long hours and time that each of you have put into this effort. To Mayor Bob Crump, I am especially indebted. It has certainly been an educational experience.
Take Care
Roy E. Lee
Chairman, The Lochsa Land Exchange Task Force
OFFICIAL VERSION – LOCHSA LAND EXCHANGE FINAL REPORT TO THE IDAHO BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Print 
PDF
